The Official SAT Question of the Day™

Choose the word or set of words that, when inserted in the sentence, best fits the meaning of the sentence as a whole.

Confident that her own political platform would ------- at election time, the mayor considered her opponent's sudden popularity less a threat than -------.

A. falter . . a boon
B. strengthen . . a calamity
C. prevail . . a distraction
D. alter . . an error
E. waver . . a diversion

Correct Answer: C

Here's Why:

Choice (C) is correct. The mayor was confident about her campaign, so it makes sense to suggest that she felt her political platform would “prevail,” or triumph. The phrase “less…than” indicates that as a result of her confidence, the mayor found her opponent's popularity to be less than a threat; she considered it a mere “distraction.”


Question Type: Sentence Completions

(Critical Reading)